Rediscovering Cycloramphus bandeirensis (Anura: Cycloramphidae): natural history and breeding biology of a vulnerable species with a variant reproductive mode

Autor(es)

Verdade, Vanessa Kruth ^[1] ; Almeida-Silva, Diego ^[1] ; Cassimiro, Jose ^[2] ; Rodrigues, Miguel Trefaut ^[2]

Afiliação do(s) autor(es)

^[1] Univ Fed ABC, Ctr Ciencias Nat & Humanas, Av Estados 5001, BR-09210580 Santo Andre, SP - Brazil

^[2] Univ Sao Paulo, Inst Biociencias, Rua Matao, Travessa 14, 101, BR-05508090 Sao Paulo, SP - Brazil

• Tipo de documento: Artigo Científico
• Fonte: Phyllomedusa; v. 18, n. 2, p. 159-175, DEC 2019.
• Citações Web of Science: 0

Resumo

We present here data on the breeding biology of Cycloramphus bandeirensis, including descriptions of the advertisement call and tadpole. Males call from beneath rocks in open grasslands above approximately 2,450 m a.s.l. at the Parque Nacional do Caparao, southeastern Brazil. Breeding occurs from late October-December, when mist and clouds frequently cover the area. The advertisement call consists of a first note, followed by two or three shorter ones. The spawn is hidden under rocks from which the males call, and the tadpoles are exotrophic and semiterrestrial. This report of a semiterrestrial tadpole that develops in seclusion in a terrestrial habitat is a variant of Reproductive Mode 19. We compared the ontogeny of the semiterrestrial tadpole of C. bandeirensis to that of generalized tadpoles, and a new function is ascribed to the skin flap that is present in larvae of Cycloramphus. It is suggested that C. bandeirensis be transferred to Vulnerable category (VU, d2) of IUCN; the species has a small geographic range (< 20 km(2)), specialized environmental requirements, is vulnerable, has phylogenetic affinities to species that consistently have undergone local population crashes in southeastern Brazil, and is subject to plausible potential threats in its range (e.g., fires and climate change). (AU)

• Processo FAPESP: 03/10335-8 - Sistemática e evolução da herpetofauna neotropical
• Beneficiário: Miguel Trefaut Urbano Rodrigues
• Modalidade de apoio: Auxílio à Pesquisa - Temático